ETFSA director Nerina Visser joins market commentator, Simon Brown to discuss the listing of Oyster, ETFSA’s second ETF on the JSE and its first with 100% offshore exposure. The name says it all: the world is your oyster.
In this interview, Nerina explains how Oyster works as an ETF of ETFs: a single, JSE-listed fund that invests directly into a curated selection of global ETFs from major international providers such as Vanguard, State Street, and iShares. Because the fund invests physically offshore, it opens the door to low-cost, highly liquid ETFs and thematic exposures that aren’t readily available on the JSE, including AI infrastructure and mid-cap US equities. Investors can access all of this from just R10 a unit.
Crucially, Oyster is eligible for tax-free savings accounts. Because the fund carries no performance fees, it meets the requirements for tax-free investments, making it a straightforward way to add international diversification to a TFSA. It is equally suited to discretionary portfolios, whether investing from R300 a month or in larger amounts. Originally available only to ETFSA Living Annuity members, the fund is now accessible to all investors through its JSE listing.
Key topics covered:
- Why the ETF is classified as “actively managed” and what that means in practice
- The fund’s strategic 80/20 benchmark and the flexibility to tilt allocations towards equities, commodities (including gold and platinum), and away from bonds
- Access to global indices beyond the usual MSCI World and S&P 500, including the S&P 400 mid-cap index
- A target TER of around 0.50%, with a management fee of 0.35%
- How the fund evolved from an ETFSA Living Annuity portfolio into a publicly listed ETF
“I think for the investor the beauty is a single ETF that you buy in rands on the JSE for the very low starting price of R10 a unit.” — Nerina Visser, ETFSA
Trade the Oyster ETF on the JSE under the code: OYSTER.
Listen to the full interview: